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Arsenal’s European hopes lie in the FA Cup after a sluggish loss to Villa

The significance of Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal is difficult to overstate, as they have left the relegation on the goal difference in view of the last day of the season, but it also ends any possibility that the Gunners will secure the football of the Europa League through Premier League. It is the first time in 25 years that they will end up out of the top six.

David Trezeguet’s sublime 27th minute strike was only a reward for a Villa team that showed more industry and commitment across the field, while Arsenal wore the battle scars of Saturday’s semifinal victory over Manchester City in the Cup of England despite Mikel Arteta’s attempt to hide them in making six changes to his initial lineup.

– Ratings: Arsenal in step with the defeat of the Villa
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No single substitute was contested for the Wembley showpiece on August 1 (watch live on ESPN + in the United States), which now has huge implications for Arteta’s rebuilding as it’s much more than an opportunity for the 13-time winners to extend that record of competition shots and mark the Spaniard’s managerial debut season with a trophy.

The larger image was brought to the fore when a banner flew over the head for five minutes in this game with the simple message: “Back Arteta, Kroenke Out”. The plane’s trip was funded by crowdfunding by a group of Arsenal supporters, who raised £ 1,700 to take stock.

Stan Kroenke has been targeted this way previously, and the reason is always the same: fans worried about a chronic lack of investment are watching their team fight to keep up with the Premier League elite.

Money is tight at Arsenal. Arteta made it little secret that he developed three different transfer strategies depending on whether they qualified for the Champions League, the Europa League or any European football.

The club’s focus on the day’s revenues has seen the coronavirus pandemic hit them hard financially, and therefore those who believe that an absence of European football would allow Arteta further attention to household activities are unaware of the Emirates Stadium.

The Europa League is undeniably a poor money cousin of the Champions League, but Arsenal made £ 34 million in the region for reaching last year’s final. The figure will be considerably lower this year after being eliminated in the round of 16 by Olympiakos, but is still estimated at around £ 19 million.

Considering that the club’s latest accounts showed a pre-tax loss of £ 27.1 million with much worse forecasts to follow, every penny really matters. And this defeat, the defeat of the tenth season of the season, was yet another reminder of the renewal required by this team.

“I have the full support of the Kroenkes, the board of directors, the sports director,” said Arteta. “We are putting together a very strong plan to try to do as much as possible in the shorter period because, at the end of the day, the ranking doesn’t lie. Now we have the gap that we have to close and we are trying to do everything together.

“We have to improve in many areas. First of all, it is my responsibility to improve the team individually, also the mentality, obviously. And then, in some areas, we have to improve because the best teams are better than us. Uncertainty is reality. We have uncertainty because coronavirus has hit everyone hard, we don’t know how we are ending up in Europe and there is uncertainty with some players. I have to try to be honest. “

The Gunners arrived in a team threatened by relegation and failed to score a single shot on goal in 90 minutes. There is a palpably insufficient quality depth in this team to rotate and compete on multiple fronts.

Lucas Torreira is replaced in the interval after a bad performance in midfield. Sead Kolasinac remained on the field but was terribly wandering as a central defender in the second half. Cedric has repeatedly wasted promising cross positions. Nicolas Pepe was unable to influence the game from the bench.

There was perhaps the inevitability that Arsenal’s intensity would drop only three days after such a collectively draining performance to beat City, but the Gunners never leave him too long to remind everyone why they are so far from the challenges on a coherent basis.

Mesut Ozil’s continued absence is believed to be based on a desire to freeze him before moving him this summer instead of paying the last year of his £ 350,000 a week contract. It may not adapt to Arteta’s play style and his performances may be inconsistent. But it seems a little counterintuitive not to have it at least as an option off the bench for the last 20 minutes of a game that Arsenal needed to win but who were struggling to create despite Dani Ceballos’ best efforts.

Arteta maintains complete control over the selection of the team, but finances can influence football. It seems that they are inextricably linked. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang intends to stay at Arsenal, but the three-year deal of £ 250,000 a week that he wants will feel more like a stretch without the Europa League football.

Arsenal are tenth, and the maximum they can finish is the eighth: regardless of where they will end up, they will represent their worst goal since 1995.

“[Missing out on the top six] it has to hurt and we have to suffer because it’s not good enough for this football team, “said Arteta.” Also, we need to fix it. We know the challenge is really big. We are really excited about what we have in front of us and we need to convey this enthusiasm and passion because, unfortunately, there will be some ups and downs. Today it’s a drop, but sometimes it’s nice to see reality and then try again, go ahead and improve. “

Watford, in the relegation zone behind Villa, will visit Arsenal on Sunday. As Villa has here, they too will hope to benefit from an Arsenal team hit by the FA Cup. After all, it could make or break Arsenal’s summer.

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